Anniversaries, Unworthy Celebs & Emergency Rooms (Penny)

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When the cherry blossoms bloom overnight and you're meandering through pools of sunshine in the West Village, far from the bustle of Midtown skyscrapers and boisterous traffic, New York City feels like heaven. It's even better when you're on a lunch-break from a real job, (yes folks, I finally have one!). No more 3am shifts ending with a longwinded subway ride home amongst vagrants and weirdos, and goodbye to the stress of earning a mere $4 for an entire day's work. I now have a salary, healthcare, dental coverage and a real life in the HR world!

Dave and I celebrated our 1 year NYC anniversary on April Fools Day, entrenching an annual tradition to hang with Keri & Scott, (our lovely adoptive cousins who rescued us a year ago as we landed bleary-eyed in urban mayhem).

Looking back on the year, it's amazing how far we've come. 4 different apartments, 10 different jobs, a handful of international escapes and 2 cats. Despite arrogantly believing we'd mastered the city at premature steps along our journey, only now do we really understand how the Manhattan machine spins. We're one of the locals. We work far too many hours, spend all our money on fabulous eateries, overpriced cocktails, and shoes, we revel in a slice of sunshine or nature, and our patience for tourists has been whittled to the bone. Yep, call us 'New Yorkers'.

Another secret about this city: "It's all who you know"... seriously. That saying had bled off our tongues in the past with absolutely no basis. Until you've made a go of New York living, you don't realise how every job and apartment you score, every entry into a cool bar or club and every reservation and the best restaurants in town only ever come about through networking. A bit of sheer luck may get you a foot in the door somewhere random, (or absolute talent as Dave would say when relaying his Mt. Sinai experience), but 99% of this city operates behind closed doors, wearing a mask and talking in codes.

So much has happened lately, life feels like Superman: faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive .... Our news will have to be reduced to points:

* Dave has 2 staples in his head thanks to an accident at work and a rush to ER. (Luckily he works in a hospital).

* We are about to move again (1st May).

* Last week we were offered the dream Manhattan penthouse brownstone apartment for 3 months: huuuuge, flooded with skylight sunshine, decked out with designer furniture and right near Central Park. After much deliberation we chose stability over stunning.... we're moving back to our old apartment 10 blocks down. (It's all who you know!) And now that I have a real job, we can sign our own lease. Permanence ... finally!

* I had another article published in Cityscape Magazine entitled: "Central Park - The Natural Connection":

http://www.cityscape-news.com/MAR-2010.pdf

* I spotted an F-grade celebrity at a fashion launch last week. Robin Berkeley. You won't know her unless you're big on the New York fashion scene, (or you watch 'Kell on Earth' ... a reality show based around Kelly Cutrone's "People's Revolution" - the fashion PR Firm featured in "The Hills" and "The City").

* Dave and I nearly got arrested for subway fair evasion by 2 of NY's finest overreactive police officers. We played the dumb tourist card. With our Aussie accents and NSW Drivers' Licenses, we were golden! Departing words from Constable Ego, "You're lucky you are foreign. If you were New Yorkers you'd be handcuffed and spending the night in a warm cell!" (.... um, perhaps we'll renounce our earlier statements? Being a non-New-Yorker seems to have it's benefits).

* We're off to Puerto Rico this Friday for a destination wedding, (not ours), a midnight swim in the world's most amazing bioluminescent bay, and most importantly ...... MY BIRTHDAY (in paradise)!!!

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Photos

Ironic T-Shirt
Day of the Accident

Celebrity Sighting #37
Robin Berkeley from 'Kell On Earth"

Comments

[Sook]

Dave what did you do?
Dave, What did you do you lanky shit? At least Penny keeps us up-to-date!